


time and a half

by lunarlunch



Category: Hunter X Hunter
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-07-31
Updated: 2015-07-31
Packaged: 2018-04-12 07:14:56
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 3,700
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4470149
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lunarlunch/pseuds/lunarlunch
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Five stories in which Leorio and Kurapika work harder on their relationship than on their Zodiac duties. (Everything in this collection was originally posted to my tumblr account.)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Salt and Pepper

**Author's Note:**

> Except for the last two fics, these chapters are arranged in the order I wrote them. This one's from August 2014 and it was the first time in long time that I had completed a Leopika story. The inspiration for this was basically "2AM at Denny's", but I've always been in love with the idea of couples eating at a diner in the middle of the night and I think it fit these two well.

The sight of Kurapika pushing open the diner door, a laptop under his arm and his suit tidy despite a long day at the association, proved more effective in perking Leorio up than the coffee he was drinking. He almost stood as he waved Kurapika over, calling his name over the chatter of the other patrons. As Kurapika slid into the booth, Leorio began pouring him a cup of coffee.

“Evening,” he said, sliding the cup over to Kurapika. “I was starting to think you weren’t coming.”

“Something came up.”

“Top secret stuff?”

Kurapika shook his head.

“No, I ran into Beans. He wanted me to look over some forms.”

With that, Kurapika leaned back and took a sip of his coffee. Underneath his long bangs, his eyes begin to close. His entire body was obviously yearning to relax, maybe slump against the window and fall asleep right then and there. But he remained as he was, drinking his coffee and gazing out the window at the street. It was crowded for the middle of a weekday night, with business people hurrying past their window and expensive cars waiting at the red light. Leorio wondered if it had something to do with the upcoming holiday, which they and the Zodiacs were planning to work through.

Still looking away, Kurapika asked, “Have you been waiting long?”

“Only fifteen minutes or so,” Leorio lied. “Hope it’s okay that I ordered for you. I got you the special, the one you ordered last time.”

“That’s fine.”

“And I got you extra sausage. You need protein.”

Now Kurapika’s eyes were on him, narrowed in defiance rather than sleepiness.

“I’ve been taking care of myself, Leorio. I don’t need help.”

Leorio sighed. “It won’t kill you, you know.”

Before Kurapika could reply, the waitress came over with their food. Leorio was grateful for the interruption. He was too tired to start a fight and, from the way he switched all his attention onto his omelette, Kurapika was feeling the same way. Once the waitress left, they ate in silence. While Kurapika took small bites, Leorio shoved his food in as fast as he could. He only slowed down when he noticed Kurapika watching him.

“I haven’t eaten in hours, okay?”

“Same here,” Kurapika replied before taking another bite of his food, the speed of which was slow, restrained.

“Are you trying to make me feel like a pig?” Leorio asked.

Kurapika shrugged and the smile tugging at his lip was enough for Leorio to forgive whatever insult was about to come out of his mouth.

“Well, you are the boar now, so I suppose it’s fitting.”

“I’ll show you a boar!” Leorio declared before stuffing the rest of his waffle into his mouth. Bits of it stuck out from between his lips and it was hard to move his jaw, but he was determined not to spit any of it out. Kurapika simply stared as Leorio forced himself to chew, then shook his head and went back to his meal.

“Do you want me to ask the waitress to bring you some water?”

Leorio grunted in the negative, now chewing frantically and fighting the urge to swallow too soon out of fear of choking. The worst part was realizing that he didn’t know what he was trying to prove to Kurapika through this rash action. It was too late to take it back now, though, and so all he could do was close his eyes and focus all his energy on mashing the waffle down.

When had swallowed a good portion of the waffle and could breathe normally again, Leorio opened his eyes. Kurapika was putting the small plate that had been holding the sausage on top of his main plate and had his hand out for Leorio’s own empty plate. As Leorio handed it to him, he asked: “Are you okay?”

“Yeah,” he said sheepishly before draining the rest of his coffee and reaching for his wallet, hoping he had the money to cover his meal. Although the association paid them well for their time, he could never shake the fear of coming up short, especially in front of Kurapika, who wouldn’t be able to hide his judgement. Fortunately, he was spared this time and he added his part of the ticket to Kurapika’s with a sigh of relief.

“Heading back to the hotel?” he asked. Kurapika nodded. “Awesome. I wanted to show you a faster way to get there.”

“Does it involve illegal trespassing like your last shortcut?”

“Technically we weren’t trespassing.” Kurapika raised an eyebrow and Leorio added, “I don’t know if it’s legal, but I do know that we won’t get chased by dogs this time.”

Although Kurapika’s expression remained skeptical, he followed Leorio out of the diner, asking where his shortcut was.


	2. Calling You

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Someone should take away Leorio's phone when he's drinking.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> From September '14. I changed the ending a little and removed a huge typo that made one of the sentences unreadable (and I didn't even notice it until months after I posted the fic omg).

“Are you hungover?”

Leorio groaned into his desk, bringing his arms over his head as if they would magically hide him the one person he had wanted to avoid that day. Of course they didn’t and so Kurapika continued to stand before his desk, saying: “I’ll take that as a yes.”

“I already got lectured by Cheadle, I don’t need you to do it, too,” Leorio said, arms still over his head.

“I only came to tell you that the meeting’s been moved up to eleven,” Kurapika said while Leorio weakly raised his head, his face pale and eyes bloodshot. He immediately brought a hand to his forehead, grimacing as a jolt of pain struck and spread its tendrils through the surrounding area. “Besides, it seems as though your body’s doing a better job of lecturing you than I could.”

“Yeah, it sure is. I haven’t had a hangover this bad since I started med school.”

“Have you been drinking water?”

“Yep. Even took some pains meds.”

“I don’t know what to tell you, then. I’ll see you at the meeting.”

As Kurapika turned to leave, Leorio suddenly found the strength to fight the pain in his head and straighten up in his chair. He opened his mouth, closed it, then opened it again, realizing he needed to ask his question or it would bug him all day. And he needed to do it now, before Kurapika passed through the open office door and was gone.

“Hey, when I called last night, I didn’t leave a voicemail or anything, did I?”

Kurapika stopped. He didn’t speak, but when he looked back at Leorio, it was clear that he was trying to not look as embarrassed as he felt. Leorio hung his head and sighed.

“I get weird when I’m drunk.”

“I’d say sappy is a better description.”

Leorio let his head hit the desk. After the pain subsided, he muttered, “How sappy was I?”

“Extremely,” Kurapika said while Leorio groaned a third time. “However, I can’t say it went unappreciated.”

It took Leorio a moment to process those words before he asked, “Really?”

“Yes.”

By the time Leorio looked up, Kurapika was gone. He stared at the empty doorway for a moment, then, before he laid his head back on the desk and prayed for the pounding to stop, he pulled out his phone and texted: "Anytime".

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter got fanart! You can see it here: http://painpackerrisingsun.tumblr.com/post/137716283743/time-and-a-half-by-lunarlunch-is-one-of-my


	3. Heat of the Moment

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Leorio and Kurapika have some things to discuss after an impulsive action.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> From October '14. I hope someone else has Asia stuck in their head, too.

Kurapika had slammed the door in his face. 

For just a moment, Leorio stared at the brass numbers nailed to the door, dumbstruck. Then the realization of what had happened hit him and he began pound on the door, demanding to be let in. As the numbers shook next to his face, it slowly dawned on him that this wasn’t going to make Kurapika to open up faster. He stepped back, settling for pacing around the hallway until he was tired of looking at the diamond pattern of the hotel carpet. When he returned to the door, he knocked in a way more suited to the late hour.

“Kurapika,” he said to the door handle. “Can we please talk about this? It’ll drive me crazy if we don’t.”

No reply. Leorio adjusted his tie, trying not to recall the forceful tug that had loosened it and failing to do so. He sighed.

“I’m not mad,” he said. Then, with a nervous laugh, he continued, “Uh, just maybe don’t be so rough next time. I can feel my lip bruising.”

Silence. He was about to give up and slink off to his room when the door opened, just enough for Kurapika to peek out at him. Although his eyes were no longer red, the look on his face was enough to make Leorio gulp. He suddenly understood how his friend had convinced so many people to give their pairs of scarlet eyes back.

Before Leorio could open his mouth, Kurapika said, “You should know I haven’t slept in two days. I wasn’t thinking clearly.”

Although he was concerned about Kurapika’s well-being, Leorio couldn’t help but chuckle.

“That’s all it was?” he said. “I was hoping you had finally given into my dashing good looks.”

Kurapika gave him a withering look and began to close the door. Leorio quickly put his hand to stop him.

“Wait! I’ll be serious.”

“You don’t have to be since there’s nothing more to discuss.”

Leorio rubbed the back of his neck. “Maybe…but can I come in anyways? I won’t stay long.”

Kurapika frowned in thought, then pulled the door open.

“Only for a few minutes.”

“Really?”

It was hard to make a home out of a hotel room, but Kurapika’s room felt especially impersonal. Except for a table and couch, the living room was bare, and a glimpse of the bedroom revealed only a perfectly made bed and a lone lamp on the nightstand. Even the kitchenette looked untouched, leaving Leorio to wonder if there was even food in the miniature refrigerator. The only evidence that Kurapika had actually spent time in the room was a few paper cups in the trash bin.

While Kurapika sat down at the table and pulled his laptop from his shoulder bag, Leorio wandered over to the window and pulled back the curtain.

“Your room has a better view than mine,” he said.

Kurapika grunted a response in between the clacking of his keyboard. Leorio took in the city lights a little longer before letting go of the curtain and moving to the couch. It was the same as the one in his room, but he was having a much harder time getting comfortable here. First he leaned back with his arms crossed, then he bent forward and dug his elbows on his knees. After shifting a few more times, he finally decided to drape his arm over the armrest and rest one leg over the other, bouncing it as he thought about what to say.

“I can’t believe you kissed me.”

Kurapika stopped typing.

“You kissed back,” he replied.

“Only a little!” Leorio swore he saw Kurapika raise an eyebrow, but when he didn’t challenge the lie, Leorio let his head fall back against the couch and put his hand over his face. He was surprised by how hot his skin was. “I’m just confused. I thought I was only into women.”

Kurapika shut his laptop. Leorio watched him through his fingers, waiting for a sign that he was about to be kicked out of the room, but all did Kurapika was look at him through half closed lids. Although his expression was neutral, Leorio could feel his time running out.

“So what are you?” Leorio asked, letting his hand slide off his face and onto his lap.

“What do you mean?”

“Like, are you gay?”

Kurapika shrugged.

“But you like me, though,” Leorio said.

“Not at the moment.”

“Whatever. You wouldn't of done it if you didn't like me.” Leorio paused, then said, “You know what’s funny, though? You’re not even the first guy I’ve kissed. Of course, I was thirteen and drunk, but I guess it counts. And it’s not that I never thought of you that way…Er, I guess what I’m trying to say is, I think I’m okay with this. With us.”

Out of the corner of his eye, Leorio saw Kurapika look away. 

“But, I know it wouldn’t work right now,” he added quietly.

The silence returned, but this time Leorio didn’t feel the need to break it. Instead, he stared ahead at the television’s blank screen, avoiding his eyes in the reflection and wondering if it was finally time for him to leave. His answer came in the form of a loud thunk. For a second, Leorio simply stared at his friend's body slumped over the table before rational thought kicked in and he rushed over to Kurapika. He cursed himself - in his preoccupation with his sexuality, he had forgotten just how exhausted Kurapika was.

“Hey,” he said as he put a hand on Kurapika’s shoulder and shook him. Kurapika’s only reaction was a small groan. Leorio pulled his hand away, but he stayed where he was, unwilling to leave Kurapika like this. The solution, he decided, was to scoop Kurapika up and head towards the bedroom. Holding Kurapika's light, unyielding body after he had frantically pulled Leorio close just a short time before was strange, almost frightening, and it made Leorio wish Kurapika would wake up and demand to know what the hell he was doing.

But Kurapika’s eyes remained closed and Leorio carefully balanced him as he pushed aside the covers. The moment his body was in the bed, Kurapika turned away from Leorio and curled up. Leorio paused, then pulled the blanket up to Kurapika’s chin since the room was chilly.

“Well, I’ll see you tomorrow,” Leorio said, even though he was sure Kurapika couldn’t hear him. He took a step back, then stopped. Kurapika looked so small in the middle of the bed, as if he could be engulfed by the blankets and lost forever. Leorio wanted to crawl in bed next to him, to protect him from that ludicrous scenario, but he knew it was too big an invasion of Kurapika’s space and so all he could do was watch helplessly.

When he finally shut off the lights, Leorio felt more tired than he had in weeks. He was in the middle of resigning himself to going back to his room when he spotted the couch. It wouldn’t be a comfortable sleep and Kurapika would probably be mad at him in the morning, but it was a compromise. With a yawn, he shrugged off his jacket and headed towards his temporary bed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wanted to end this with them sleeping together so much, but it didn't feel right. Maybe someday :(


	4. Dead Man's Party

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Leorio has the flu.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We're at the recent fics now! The title for this one comes from the Oingo Boingo song of the same name.

Leorio's desk was vacant again.

Word around the office was that he was spending all his time in the Hunter's Association's library studying. A trip upstairs had confirmed it - Kurapika had found Leorio absorbed in a glossy, new medical book, only looking away from the text long enough to take notes and the occasional bite of a sandwich. Kurapika had left him alone that day, but now that the work week was almost up and Leorio still hadn't appeared in the office, he wondered if another visit to the library was in order. 

Around lunch, Kurapika caught snatches of gossip that Leorio was sick. By the end of the day, several containers of soup and homemade flu remedies had appeared on Leorio's desk. 

"You should take those home to him," Piyon said as Kurapika looked down at a bowl of dark green mush. 

"He's not here?" Kurapika asked, turning towards her. All of Piyon's attention was on her laptop screen, her phone laid on top of a stack of papers with what looked like lines of scribble on them.

"Nah, Cheadle made him go home," she said. "He was supposed to be off yesterday, too, but I guess he, like, begged her to stay."

"I see," Kurapika said, looking back at Leorio's desk. 

Once he had found a bag to put all the containers in, and then stopped to let Ginta give him a bag of cookies for when Leorio got better, he headed back to the hotel he and Leorio were staying in. There was no answer when he knocked on Leorio's door, so Kurapika took out the key Leorio had given and opened the door. 

The room was dark and freezing. The hallway light revealed that Leorio was passed out on the couch, his tie off and his shirt untucked. The textbook he had been reading laid on its top on the floor. Kurapika left the lights off as he opened the refrigerator and put the bag of food inside. 

He was halfway to the door when Leorio spoke.

"Kurapika, is that you?"

"Yes. Some people at the Hunter's Association found out you were sick and made you some food, so I was dropping it off."

"Oh. Thanks," Leorio said, groaning as he sat up.

"I don't have a lot of time," Kurapika said as he heard Leorio slide his feet onto the carpet. "I have a meeting to go to."

"That's fine." Leorio sighed. "Hey, can you turn on the lights?"

Kurapika flipped the switch. Leorio sat still for a moment, his arms across his knees and his head drooped, then picked his book up off the floor. From an end table on the opposite side of the couch, he picked up an empty beer can and stood up. 

"You should be drinking water," Kurapika said as Leorio shuffled past him into the kitchen.

"You don't think I know that?" Leorio asked as he threw the can away. Some of the irritation left his voice as he added, "I had to drink it."

"Is it some folk remedy?"

"No. It's just...This is the day my friend died."

Kurapika remained silent as Leorio leaned against the counter, swaying a little as he crossed his arms. His face was pale and the dark circles under his eyes rivaled Kurapika's own. Leorio looked up at the ceiling as he continued.

"We couldn't always get a hold of beer, but when we did, it always seemed to be that stuff. It's probably the worst tasting beer in the world, but man did he love it. So, every year I chug one down to remember him by." Leorio smiled sheepishly. "I don't usually get this depressed about it, though. Guess it just hit me harder this time."

"It doesn't help that you're sick."

"Yeah, I guess it doesn't," Leorio said, as if he had just noticed his fever. 

"Your friend," Kurapika started. "Is that why you've been studying so much lately?"

"Yeah."

For a moment, the only sounds in the room were the hum of the refrigerator and the rush of cold air from the A.C. 

"Do you need anything?"

Leorio gave Kurapika a surprised look, then shook his head and smiled again.

"No. Just talking about it's made me feel a little better." 

He pushed away from the counter, but instead of leaving the kitchen, he opened the refrigerator door and rummaged through the bag Kurapika had brought. He picked up the container with the green mush and held it up.

"The hell's this?" he asked.

"I'm not sure. It was from the receptionist."

"Oh, it might be okay then," Leorio said as he put it back inside the refrigerator and picked up Ginta's bag of cookies.

"I need to go," Kurapika said while Leorio bit into a cookie. "Get some rest."

Leorio snorted.

"Same goes for you."

Kurapika turned and opened the door. Before he stepped into the hall, he glanced back at Leorio, who was staring into the refrigerator with glassy eyes. The promise to come back pressed at the back of his lips, but he kept them closed and left.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ...one day I'll come up with a better way to phrase the ending sentence.


	5. Home

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What Kurapika expects to be an argument turns into something else altogether.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is probably the most self-indulgent fic I’ve written because I wasn’t thinking too much about canon when I wrote this and for once I don’t care…too much…

It was meant to be a throw-away comment, but Leorio grits his teeth and his nostrils flare. As he takes a step towards him, Kurapika prepares for the outburst, almost hoping for it so he can unleash his own frustration through the coming argument and get back to work. But Leorio doesn't say anything immediately, just continues across the office. When he finally does speak, his voice is low, steady, and Kurapika feels his stomach drop.

"What did you say?" 

"You heard me," Kurapika answers, keeping his eyes on Leorio's. "Once this is over, there's no where for me to go."

Leorio is mere inches from him, glaring down at him. Or, he's trying to, but his features are softening as he fights back other emotions, ones that make Kurapika want to flee the room. Before he can react, Leorio closes the gap and throws his arms around Kurapika. Kurapika clenches his hands as his forehead hits Leorio's chest and he raises them to push away, but Leorio's grip keeps him in place.

"Damn it, Kurapika," Leorio breathes into his hair. "You'll always have somewhere to go as long as I'm here."

Kurapika stares into the white of Leorio's shirt, feeling the rise and fall of his chest against his fists. He's no longer struggling to get away, but instead fighting to put his vision back to normal. As his hands relax and he inhales a mixture of expensive cologne and cigarettes, he swears he can hear Leorio's heartbeat - rapid, but soothing. The opposite of his own, which is still raging in his chest. 

Leorio is about to speak again when there's a knock on the door, which he had left ajar when he came to see Kurapika. Mizaistom enters just as Leorio arms go slack and Kurapika pushes him back and steps away. Leorio doesn't look up as Mizaistom studies them.

"I just came to see if that report was done," Mizaistom says after some hesitation.

"Almost. I'll send it as soon as it's done," Kurapika says. 

"Well, okay then." Mizaistom says before he retreats from the room. They can hear his steps hurrying down the hall.

"I'd better get going," Leorio says once the sound fades. His cheeks are pink and he's still looking at the floor. "I was supposed to be meeting Cheadle."

"You'd better go, then. She doesn't like to wait."

"Yeah," Leorio laughs. He picks up his briefcase off Kurapika's desk and heads towards the door. Before he leaves, he pauses, then turns around.

"I, uh, meant what I said, you know."

"I know," Kurapika replies.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm still not sure if I like Leorio's reaction to being 'caught' by Mizai or if I should've written it where he greets him too loudly and flails around a bit...
> 
> Well, that's all I got (for now). Before I started reading through these fics, I was worried they were all too similar in set-up and tone. I'm still a little worried about the former, but I can definitely see a change in how I approach the pairing? The previous ones felt more optimistic about the relationship than these last two.


End file.
